Tour de Suisse (st. 4)

Andalusian sprinter from Movistar Team -supported by Rojas (9th)- comes back at Ossingen's sprint, beats Sagan, Kristoff, Modolo to finish on Cavendish's (OPQ) wheel

The position from which Juanjo Lobato started off his sprint in the finale of stage four in the Tour de Suisse -160km, eminently flat, from Heiden to Ossingen- was the reason for the Andalusian’s fists to his handlebar after crossing the finish in 2nd place, just behind Mark Cavendish (OPQ). In a day with no real story, with Teklehaimanot (MTN) and De Vreese (WGG) as only escapees under tight control by the teams with sprinters, the Movistar Team riders focused on two things: covering the shoulders of Ion Izagirre -still in 7th overall- and saving energy for their two fastmen, Lobato himself and José Joaquín Rojas, who took the last turns in favour of Lobato after his 6th spot yesterday.

The strong headwind and the slightly uphill finishing straight advised the riders to save their best for the end, but that same rear position made Lobato take some extra effort, which combined with a boxing in against Modolo (LAM), had the Trebujena-based rider passing big names like Sagan (CAN), Kristoff (KAT) or Van Poppel (TFR), yet to content himself with 2nd place. The chance to bounce back will come already on Wednesday, with stage five including no real difficulties in its 184km route towards Büren.